25 Things to Know About Ralph Lauren, Polo, and the Designer's Legacy

Before the fashion empire that spanned nearly every category imaginable, Ralph Lauren was peddling ties out of a showroom in the Empire State Building in 1967. The first items he designed for his namesake label were bold, wide neckties, which was inspired by his job as a tie salesman for brands like Rivetz and Beau Brummell in the ‘60s. His first big purchase order was for 1,200 ties and came from Neiman Marcus.

Many people likely think of New York City when they think about Ralph Lauren. Ironically, his first standalone brick-and-mortar retail store was actually in Los Angeles. It opened its doors on the famed Rodeo Drive in 1971.

There is no more ubiquitous symbol of Ralph Lauren than the pony. While it is stitched on virtually everything that the brand produces in some capacity now, it didn’t make its first appearance until 1971. It appeared on the cuff of women’s shirts.

The polo shirt is fully stamped as an iconic staple of the men’s wardrobe at this point. Polo has made it in pretty much every color. It made its debut in 1972. The rest is history.

Many of you probably remember Polo Ralph Lauren pieces ending up in Fortnite in 2022, but Polo’s first appearance in a video game came decades prior. In 1979, a game was programmed for the Atari 2600 to help promote Polo cologne. Ultimately, it never released to the public.

Polo’s status within street fashion and hip-hop culture would not have happened without the Lo Lifes. Born in Brooklyn in the ‘80s, Thirstin Howl III, Rack-Lo, Rudy-Lo, and the rest of the collective introduced Polo Ralph Lauren’s preppy clothing to the streets of New York. The were known for “boosting,” or robbing, Polo pieces out of major department stores to rock and sell in their neighborhoods. Their outfits became status symbols. While their boosting origins are behind them, the Lo-Lifes and their legacy live on to this day as a community appreciating and carrying on the legacy of Polo.

Raekwon’s “Snow Beach” moment in 1994’s “Can It All Be So Simple” video is possibly the most iconic Polo cameo in a rap video, but it wasn’t the first. Two years earlier, there was Zhigge’s “Toss It Up.” The group was outfitted head to toe in various pieces from the legendary “Stadium” and “CP-02” collections in the 1992 video and is a reference point for how many of the items became so coveted by collectors.

Aside from the man himself, Beckford is the person that many people have associated with Polo since he first appeared in ad campaigns as the face of Polo Sport in 1993. His ties to the brand have remained to this day. More recently, he closed the Ralph Lauren Fall/Winter 2026-27 show in Milan.

Polo has had a longstanding connection to skateboarding, from featuring the extreme sport in its ad campaigns in the ‘80s to young skaters adopting the gear as part of their wardrobe to an official collab with Element in 2023. For a short period in the ‘90s, Polo Ralph Lauren also produced its own line of skate-inspired threads aptly titled Polo Skate. While the specific of the line are a bit murky, it is believed that the sub-label was available for a limited time exclusively in Japan in kid’s sizing only.

The limited edition Ralph Lauren Barbie doll was released in 1996 exclusively through Bloomingdale’s.

Lauren helped turned the American flag into a fashion statement through his knit sweaters. But he didn’t just use the patriotic symbol as a motif on clothes. In 1998, Lauren made the large donation through Polo Ralph Lauren to help with the preservation of one of the flag that inspired the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It is displayed for all at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

The Polo Bar is the one that rappers like Drake have rapped about, but Ralph’s first restaurant was actually in the Windy City. Opened in 1999, RL is still open for business to this day.

Since 2008, Olympics season every four years also means a new collection of incredible Ralph Lauren gear. For nearly 20 years, the brand has dressed Team USA for the opening and closing ceremonies. A collection of Team USA products also releases to the public.

Arnold is a style icon, avid Polo collector, and visionary. In 2011, he worked with Dr. Romanelli to breathe new life into the vintage pieces from his Polo collection. The 70-piece capsule of Frankenstein’d was polarizing among the Polo community at the time, but has aged gracefully.

It seems like every clothing store has a coffee shop attached to it these days. You could argue that Ralph Lauren was the blueprint. The first Ralph’s opened in 2014 on the second floor of Polo’s Fifth Avenue flagship in New York City. To date, there are more than 50 locations around the world.

One of the most legendary moments among hardcore ‘Lo heads was #PoloGate2014. In March 2014, an internal employee promo code offering 65% off anything site-wide accidentally went public. The code spread like wildfire and eventually the Polo web store crashed from all of the traffic. Numerous collectors took advantage of the blunder. Most famosuly, Just Blaze spent over $5,000 on 64 of the deeply discounted items including extravagant pieces like a chandelier. Many of the orders using the leaked code were canceled, but some were lucky enough to receive their discounted goods.

Polo’s legacy isn’t just carried on through the pieces that it makes. Independent designers have also referenced the label countless times over. One of the more fun examples came from Boston-based creator Bandulu in 2015. He released a $400 polo shirt meant to mimick the pink collared shirt worn by Kanye West in the “All Falls Down” video, faux mustard stain and all.

It’s impossible to discuss Kanye West’s style and not eventually mention Polo. Early in his career, it was his uniform. Striped rugby sweaters and bear sweaters were made even more iconic for being donned by Ye in the 2000s. Then, there’s the endlessly quotable “it ain’t Ralph though” interview clip. Ye’s admiration for Lauren is clear, which is why it’s pretty crazy that the two didn’t formally meet until 2015.

The lifelong Polo collector put his 100-piece “Million-Dollar Vintage Polo Collection” up for sale for $1 million. The assortment of rare pieces from the collection ranged from 1987 to 1994. It was also put on display at gallery in NYC (224 Mulberry Street).

Polo rarely collaborated with other brands. In 2018, it blessed us with one of the best streetwear collabs of the past decade when it released an extensive range with Palace. The linkup produced preppy streetwear pieces like corduroy down jackets and patchwork rugby sweaters. The grail of the entire range was a take on the Polo Bear sweater that featured the lovable teddy bear kickflipping on a skateboard.

Polo and RRL are the most popular, but there are countless other Ralph Lauren sub-labels that each have their own unique style. The current slate includes Purple Label, RRL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, RLX, Polo Golf, and Chaps. Discontinued brands include Rugby, Polo Sport, Denim & Supply, Polo Jeans Co., Polo Country, and more.

Depending on your age, you have your favorite Polo shoutout in a verse. For this writer, it’s 2 Chainz’s bar from “Mercy”: “Horsepower, horsepower / All this Polo on, I got horsepower.”

He’s won all of the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards: Lifetime Achievement (1991), Womenswear Designer of the Year (1995 and 2025), Menswear Designer of the Year (1996 and 2007), Retailer of the Year (1986). He has also received CFDA’s Humanitarian Leadership Award (1997), the first American Fashion Legend Award (2007), as well as the inaugural CFDA Popular Vote Award (2009). Lauren is in rare air.